In a previous article, I discussed why purchasing managers love outsourcing to contract manufacturers. I highlighted the advantages that outsourcing manufacturing to a reliable CM can offer to the purchasing team.

Likewise, outsourcing is great for engineers too. When OEM design engineers successfully select a competent CM for assembly and integration, they experience unique benefits that simplify their tasks and facilitate a smoother product rollout with minimal intervention.

For decades, PEKO has enjoyed collaborating directly with the design engineers of our OEM clients, and we’ve found that being a good supplier means finding ways to make these individuals’ lives easier. There’s a certain sense of satisfaction in assisting a mechanical design engineer in transforming their concepts into tangible products.

Here, I’ve compiled several reasons why our customers’ engineers have loved outsourcing to a contract manufacturer.

1. Feedback on Manufacturability and Cost Downs

When the CM is given the engineers’ prints for an RFQ, the prints are analyzed for the customer and an estimation is generated based on all the available information. However, the original design engineer is not always familiar with the equipment and capabilities of the CM. So, when the CM gets a print, they are able to give design suggestions based on available manufacturing techniques that are available. By coming back with these suggestions, the engineer can decide whether to make the necessary changes. Typically, these changes lead to an increase in Manufacturability and a decrease in cost. Designing a lower cost product makes the design engineer look great and increases the CM’s chance of winning the bid. Everybody comes away with a win.

2. Preventing Design Errors and Costly Mistakes

In most companies, the design engineers are a on tight deadlines to get their designs done. By the time the prints go out for quote, they can be prone to errors and omissions. A good CM will notice these during the quoting process. These kinds of errors can lead to inconsistencies in manufacturing, functionality problems and other quality problems. A contract manufacturing partner that is paying good attention will be able to point these errors out and give the feedback to the engineer. This gives the engineer to a chance to correct the mistake before any costly manufacturing takes place. This type of collaboration is extremely helpful to the engineer and the OEM customer.

3. Allowing Design Engineers to Focus on Innovation

A common problem engineers have is that as the designer, many manufacturing issues get thrown in his or her lap. Most design engineers do not have the time, experience or desire to answer manufacturing questions and concerns for every part they have designed. By outsourcing to a contract manufacturer, the manufacturing issues can be contained, and the design engineer can focus on designing. Now the cost, manufacturability and quality issues have an owner in the CM, not the design engineer. A design engineer cannot and should not be tasked to know all the intricacies of CNC machining, sheet metal fab, Welding, and mechanical assembly. A simple shift in responsibilities like this can free up bottlenecks and keep the entire team focused on their primary objectives.

Design engineers can truly enjoy outsourcing to a contract manufacturer. The CM is the perfect resource for giving feedback on manufacturability and cost down suggestions. Their ability to be a second set of eyes on a complex print package and help the design engineer to allocate time more effectively is very valuable to the customer OEM. For more information on how PEKO has helped our customer design engineers save time and create product successfully, contact us today.